Kelsey Grammer has signed on for 'Transformers 4'

Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) is more than meets the eye as the new – and quite human – antagonist for Michael Bay’s Transformers 4.  Not too much is known about his character except that he’ll be playing counter-intelligence operative Harold Attinger – a flesh-and-blood baddie – and not a voice of any villainous Decepticons.  

Grammer will join Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Nicola Peltz and Jack Reynor in a story that centers on “a group of powerful, ingenious businessman and scientists [who] attempt to learn from past Transformer incursions and push the boundaries of technology beyond what they can control—all while an ancient, powerful Transformer menace sets Earth in his cross hairs.”  Transformers 4 opens June 27, 2014.  Hit the jump for more.

Movie Preview: Rush

Release Date: September 20, 2013Director: Ron HowardWriter: Peter MorganCast: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara, Stephen Mangan, Christian McKay, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Jamie de Courcey, Pierfrancesco Favino, Natalie Dormer

The year, make, and model were quite different but Rush filmmaker Ron Howard has felt the rumbling power of iconic cars when it comes to engines of cinema and symbolism. It was 40 years ago this summer that one of the ultimate automobile movies, American Graffiti, rumbled into box office history and steered Howard toward television and Happy Days.

Howard is a two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker and with Rush (featured in the first-look poster to the right with star Chris Hemsworth) and its fact-based tale of Formula One racing rivalry in 1976 he found himself feeling like he was covering some familiar road — but it wasn’t films about wheels on asphalt that hit close to home.

“People ask what has Rush been like and I say from a filmmaking standpoint it’s been kind of like a cross between Apollo 13 and Backdraft,” says Howard, who other films include The DaVinci Code, Splash and A Beautiful Mind. “In the case of Apollo 13, that’s for the complexity and the authenticity and the intent to capture an era and an endeavor that blends technology, action and danger.”

Howard added a hairpin segue: “But, then speaking of danger, it reminds me of Backdraft because those fires scared me and so did shooting racing action in this film. I was happy when we wrapped Backdraft and frankly it was the same reaction this time. The relief of it, I was just as happy when we wrapped Rush.”

Rush stars Hemsworth of Thor fame as driver James Hunt and Daniel Brühl as his nemesis, Niki Lauda,but while they put their lives on the line  (like astronauts and firefighters) the Formula One demi-gods were surrounded with a bubble of glamour and rock-star swagger that makes them seem more like princes addicted to danger than dedicated souls called to duty.

The director said the elite European scene was as close to cocky Jagger as it was to quietly cool Yeager. “Folks from the era are fond of saying of the 1970s F1 racing that’s it time when when sex was safe and driving was dangerous. That’s the way they lived. These folks aren’t forthcoming with a lot of details but there are a lot of winks and nods.

I really did sort of fall in love with the sport. I love teams but yet the draivers are really unique talents and fascinating personalities, which is why I was involved in the story that [Frost/Nixon screenwriter] Peter Morgan wrote these characters brilliantly and there’s great acting opportunities blended with this cool, visceral action. I also loved the blend of teamwork and the state-of-the-art technology and, throughout, the wall-to-wall aggressive action.”

Zack Snyder might be line to direct Justice League

Warner Bros' superhero franchises need a savior. The studio's relatively recent non-Batman movies, Superman Returns and Green Lantern, took a beating at the box office despite top dollars being spent on their production. But no, that savior won't be Christopher Nolan because, after directing three very successful Batman movies, he may not have any creative juice left for another costumed-hero movie.

However, that person may be Zack Snyder, the director of Watchmen and the forthcoming Superman movie, Man of Steel. Warner Bros seems to be placing all its superhero movie hopes on him because if his Man of Steel does well, he will be asked to direct Justice League, according to Empire (via Joblo).

Per the article,

"Warner Bros.' long-term view has been revised to embrace this new vision , just as the Dark Knight films resisted the com-modification of Marvel. Whether we get a Justice League, they say, depends on Man of Steel. If we do, they say, Zack Snyder will be asked to direct."

As we know, Man of Steel will set up the world in which all the WB's superheroes will reside, so its success is will determine if there is going to be a Flash movie, a Green Lantern movie, and so on.

And then there's Justice League, the studio's answer to Marvel's The Avengers, or what comic book author Mark Millar calls "an excellent way to lose $200 million."

WB has been trying unsuccessfully to get the right director to come on board to take it across the finish line, but nothing became of the studio's efforts. Ben Affleck, Brett Ratner, and the Wachowski siblings have all been rumored to have kicked the tires on the movie.

Turns out that director the studio is looking for is Snyder, but only if Man of Steel does well.

As to whether or not a successful movie can be made of WB's other superheroes, those who are not Superman or Batman, well, that's another discussion.

Dodgeball sequel in the works

The sports comedy DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story is finally getting a sequel, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn are expect to return to reprise their roles.

In the first movie, Vaughn stars as Peter LaFleur, the owner of a small gym who's trying to prevent his gym from being taken over by a larger, more successful gym owned by Ben Stiller's White Goodman. In order to get the funds need to save his gym, he forms a team to enter a Las Vegas Dodgeball tournament for the $50,000 in prize money.

In the sequel, Stiller and Vaughn will have to team up to take on a more threatening foe. Obviously, there will be more dodgeball action. Clay Tarver, who has one produced screenplay in the 2001 thriller Joy Ride, is writing the script. According to THR, Tarver "has spent much of his time in the comedy world and has a familiarity with niche, subculture activities" so he's not exactly an out-of-left-field hire.

DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story was generally well-received by the critics when it was release, scoring a 70% at RottenTomatoes. The movie also made over $167 million at the global box office on a $20 million budget.

Jurassic Life. New Jurassic Park game for 20th Anniversary

This year is a very special year: Jurassic Park celebrates its 20th anniversary. And wouldn't it be great for a brand new game to be released based on Spielberg's classic blockbuster. Well, no major publisher is working on that adaptation (as far as we know), but some dedicated fans of the film are working on a JP mod for Half-Life 2: welcome to Jurassic Life!

They've been coding for some time now – over six years, in fact – but it's a labour of love produced by a small team. Updates on the project's status have been infrequent, but the latest is definitely the most exciting yet. If you're a fan of the film, just watch the trailer for Jurassic Life below:

Danny Boyle's 'Trance' gets a release date

We haven't heard that much about Danny Boyle's 'Trance' this year, but that's not too surprising since he was busy taking every British thing ever and putting it into the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics.  

The movie centers on an art heist that goes sideways when its mastermind (James McAvoy) gets amnesia and can’t remember where he stashed the loot.  Vincent Cassell co-stars as mob boss leading the heist gang, and Rosario Dawson plays a hypnotist who tries to get the memories out of McAvoy’s character.  

Boyle shot the film back in 2011, but he held off on post-production until he was done with the Olympics. Now that those are finished, work on Trance has resumed, and a U.K. release may have been announced. Trance is reportedly set to open in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2013.

Len Wiseman gives an update on 'The Mummy' Reboot

Underworld and Total Recall director Len Wiseman has revealed that his reboot of The Mummy won't be a period piece like the last three entries in the Universal franchise.

Speaking to Movieweb, Wiseman said, "The difference between the two, if The Mummy is to be the next movie for me, is that The Mummy is a completely different film. It is a modern day take. It doesn't have anything to do with the Brendan Fraser films, and it is not a remake of any kind."

The director added, "It's horror. Its epic. It's more of a modern day version of what would happen if we came across a mummy in our world today. It is pretty fascinating."

Jon Spaihts (Prometheus) is scripting for producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Star Trek, Transformers) and Mummy series veterans Sean Daniels and Jim Jacks.